Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-03-24
A TERRIABLE HOLOCAUST.
A Hotel Fire i'm Buffalo Causes Great
Destruction of Life.
List of the Dead and Injured so Far
as Can be Ascertained.

On Friday the news flashed over the
wires that a second Newhall house horror
had occurred in Buffalo. The splendid
New Richmond hotel at the corner of Main
and Eagle streets, and extending through
to Washington street, was totally de-
stroyed by fire which was discovered at
$3.50 this morning, together with st.
James hall and other adjacent property.
The most distressing part of the disaster
is the loss of several human lives. At
this writing 10 a. n.y. it is impossible to
say just how many persons are killed and
injured, but the number is large. The
rapidity of the fire, cutting off means of
escape, led some persons to leap for life
from the windows. Others got down the
fire escapes or On Hayes ladders raised
by the fire department
The spread of the flames is said to
have been frightful in its rapidity. The
elevator shaft served a hue for the
FAM es, and they rushed up to the top
floor In very few moments. AS the
guests were reused exits cut off, thsy
turned to the windows. They could be
seen in their nightclothes standing out
clear and vivid before the lurid back
ground of the flames. Their screams
heard for blocks. The flames spread to
the southeast side of the hotel first The
fireman did notable work, and confined
the fire to thenarrow limits of the three
buildings named. Their work of rescue
had many exciting incidents. The tele-
graph wires were as usual In the way of
the ladder brigade, and much valuable
time was lost in getting the ladders past
them.
THE SHRIEKs AND CRIES
of the people in The upper stories of the
burning structure were heartrending.
One man, mad with terror, leaped from
third story window and was picked up
from the stone sidewalk on Nam street
mangled and bleeding corpse. Several
who succeeded in making their escape
were badly injured and burned, ana some
of these will probably die. Others, more
fortunate, escaped with slight in uries.
Many of the wounded were taken to Car
ney's saloon and afterwards to hospitals.
Among these was f. III. Bryant, New
York travelling man, burned about the
feet and hands; M. w, Barse, OF Clean,
terribly burned about hands and wrists;
Robert Stafford, senior proprietor OF the
hotel with his wife occupied rooms on
the second floor and had narrow es-
cape. Terror overcame everybody, and
even those who escaped in safety were in
many cases Frustrated by their awful ex-
perIence.
The loss is very heavy. The hotel
will be fitted up at a cost of $4,000 and
the building was valued at $150O00. Bun
nell's museum was built at cost of
$4,000 and the loss to interior fittings
will probably amount to $4,000.
thn Tod of I f.
was reduced to twelve, but this is mere
guess work. There were 135 persons in
the hotel, 20 of whom were transient
guests, boarders and the remainder,
porters, bell boys, families OF proprietOrs
and clerks. Twenty of these were
rescued from windows by fremen, % are
at hospitals, and large number made
their escape by other means.
The origin of the fire is yet unknown.
VIM. I'll. Airport, night clerk, says: THE
fire started IN the cloak room, under the
main stairway, at $50 o'clock. There
was nobody up but myself Joe, the
night porter, and Plummer, bell boy.
pulled all four of the fire alarms on the
different floors and people came flying
down stairs in their night clothes. The
fire followed the elevator, and inside of
six minutes it reached the sixth floor.
I rushed out of doors after doing all I
could"
Bell-boy Plummer tells his experience
as follows: Il was busting the reading
room when | heard a shout and saw
flames coming up the stairwas from the
basem emf. Mr.. Airport and I turned on
the hose under the main stairway We
Strengthened the hose out and turned the
valve but the water would not run. Then
we gave the alarm. The Waterman and
| got plank and broke in the Eagle
street and we helped people down. l
think there were about eighty-four
guests in the house.
A. FL. Bowen, of Tonawanda, says; 81
was on a third floor with j. T. McCxrdy,
of louisville. We escaped in our night
shirts. | went back for my watch and
came near being burned to death. Thank
God | am not hurt. One of the saddest
secrets of the canfagration was the fall
of man from widow to the roof of the
structure adjoining on Main street, here
tOfore mentioned. He was William Pur-
cell, of this city, local agent of Brad
streets He must have been severely
burned internally. In falling he struck
on his head and died almost instantly
Mr.. end Mrs. VIM. B. Mann, part pro-
Prietor of the hotel, had a narrow escase
Mrs. Mann was frightfully bnrned about
the head, arms and legs. The last per-
sons taken alive from the building were
two domestics taken from the southern
end of the fifth floor by fremen. VIM. j,
Mckee, of New York, and VIM. p. Lamb,
of New York, escaped from the fourth
floor by the fire escape. Mrs. Spencer, of
Syracuse, escaped in her night shirt with
her neck and hands badly burned. An
unknown man was killed by jumping
from a window, Mark Osborne, clerk of
the hotel is missing. j. II. Van Buren,,
of Dunkirk, was carried out by fremen.
One man hung outside a window four
minutes before he was rescued.